Teddy Bears
by R.G. Waffles
Summary: [OneShot] Gaara resents the day he was born because it symbolizes his destiny. That is, until he receives a present he never intended to get. Happy Birthday, Gaara.


**Demonically Angelic:** I was in the mood for a little sadness. Gaara may seem slightly OOC at the end, but it's for the purpose of the story. Happy Birthday, Gaara!

…**:::Teddy Bears:::…**

Lightning rippled outside, brightening the sky with its infamous white strikes. The flash illuminated the dark room of Gaara's, causing his face to glow deathly white. He was glowering, staring outside as the rain peppered onto his windows. The sun was hiding behind the clouds; it was early in the morning.

"Gaara?" someone called from behind the door. There was a knock. Gaara didn't bother answering it. It was pointless. He knew it was going to be someone that would come in and further badger him about his birthday.

Yes, it was his birthday today. But Gaara hated it. He absolutely despised it. He was getting older, further away from the days he called his childhood. Unfortunately, no matter how old he grew, he was still stuck with his destiny.

Destiny. Neji had once believed there was destiny. He had taken it with his life, followed it and the thing called fate. But Naruto had changed him. Naruto could not change Gaara, though, no matter how much he tried. Because Gaara knew that there was one thing he was unable to escape from.

He was Suna's weapon.

He was born to kill.

He was born to fight for Suna, and nothing else.

He was a weapon.

He hated his very birthday because he knew that it was another year of his life taken away. It was another year of his life in which he had failed to find his purpose.

"Gaara?" the voice came again. He recognized the voice this time. "I'm coming in."

His sea-foam green eyes still locked on the weather, Gaara heard the door slide open and soft feet pad against the wooden ground.

Temari came in, looking around first before resting her eyes on her younger brother. All she could see of his was the back of his head of flaming hair. The rest of him was engulfed in darkness.

"You shouldn't stay in here all day, Gaara," she said, taking a seat on his bed.

Gaara stayed silent.

Temari sighed. "Kankuro and I would really wish that you'd come downstairs. It's only the three of us today, and we have a special surprise that'll be sure to cheer you up."

_'Nothing can cheer me up,'_ Gaara had wanted to reply. But instead, he shook his head.

"Gaara," chided Temari, "You've got to come down at some point. Kankuro and I won't stop bothering you like this unless you come."

The elder siblings had long ago gotten over the monstrous power of Gaara's. Although they were still mightily afraid of it, they had come into better terms with Gaara.

Surprisingly, Gaara stood slowly and walked to the door. His gourd lay by his bed. He took it off around the house; who was there to threaten?

"Are you coming?" he asked monotonously, not turning to face Temari.

Shocked, Temari got up and said, "Of course!"

She couldn't help but smile in spite of herself. What she had planned for Gaara was definitely not what he would expect. He let her take the lead halfway down the hall since he did not know where Temari had stationed her surprise. Temari swiftly walked to the dining hall. The doors were closed to it.

"Even if you don't like it, we're still going to force the food down your throat," she said jokingly, throwing the doors open.

The dining hall was decorated lavishly. The long table had been table clothed in Suna's most decorative designs. Topping it was a meal of several different items, including sweet dumplings. The ceiling was buried in balloons and streamers of all assortments. But the best of them all was the cake adorning the table. It wasn't large, but it wasn't small either. The frosting was red and white, decorated with Suna's symbols and what appeared to be . . . teddy bears made out of sand? Thirteen candles were stationed all over it, and in the middle of it was "Happy Birthday, Gaara!" written in red.

"Surprise!" shouted Temari and Kankuro at the same time. Kankuro had appeared from behind the doors, wearing a party had as a form of a joke. He was grinning broadly, the paint on his face creasing.

Gaara was at loss of words . . . as usual. He wasn't surprised. He wasn't shocked. He wasn't angry, either. His expression was mute and impossible to decipher. Temari and Kankuro looked at him, their smiles faltering.

"Don't you like it?" asked Temari.

Gaara looked around the room, taking in every decoration. He couldn't say how much he loved it. He couldn't walk up to Temari and Kankuro and tell them how much he loved them and how much he appreciated them . . . no matter how much he wanted to. Gaara was, in truth, touched. Every year had been as drab as the other. Every year had taken another piece of life out of him without being acknowledged. But not this year. This year, Temari and Kankuro had no missions. They had no orders from Baki. It was just them, and it was their plans. He was happy . . . for the first time in several years, Gaara was . . . happy.

"You can at least say how much you hate it," said Kankuro, taking the streamer from his mouth after blowing on it when he had said 'Surprise!'

Temari rolled her eyes and said, "Fine!" before taking Gaara by the hand and leading him over to the cake. "We're going to force this down your mouth after you blow out the candles! Kankuro, get the lighter.

Slightly depressed at his brother's actions, Kankuro went to retrieve the lighter. The only thing that lit up the room was the lights above. Although the curtains of the windows were pulled back, the sky was still dark due to the roaring clouds that surrounded the sun. A clap of lightening sounded as Kankuro came back.

Gaara took a seat in front of the cake emotionlessly. He watched Kankuro light all thirteen candles.

"We're not going to do that birthday singing crap, Gaara, so don't expect us to," said Temari.

"Aw, but I wanted to sing!" whined Kankuro.

Temari rolled her eyes once more. "Blow out the candles and make a wish so we can get to the presents!"

_'Presents?'_ thought Gaara as he stared at the candles. He searched his mind for a wish. After finding one, and saying it in his mind, he took a deep breath and blew out the candles. There was a moment of silence before Kankuro, hopped up on _something_, decided to unveil the presents that were covered by the cake. There were exactly three of them. Gaara had expected one, if not, none. He was surprised to find that three people had bothered to give him a present. The first was probably Kankuro's, the second was definitely Temari's, but the third was unknown.

"Open mine first!" said Kankuro, grinning like mad as he thrust a poorly wrapped, blue present into Gaara's hands. Gaara smirked slightly . . . but he was smiling in his mind.

His hands undid the tie with ease and the wrapping fell off. The present was marionette. It was a smaller version, but it had the spikes, the darts . . . all of it. Except instead of the shaggy head of gray string, it was flaming red.

"I handcrafted it myself. It took me a month to make," said Kankuro proudly. "It's like a mini pocket knife and a wallet. It opens like Karasu."

Gaara played with it in his hands, touching the spikes. Kankuro's words were strong. He would have thought his siblings to have completely forgotten his birthday until the morning before, but Kankuro had been making this for him since a month's time. Had his brother really cared that deeply for him?

He put it on the table, looking at his brother closely. Kankuro almost looked . . . hurt? Why?

"Here's mine," Temari said, nudging Kankuro slightly out of Gaara's line of eyesight. She handed him a perfectly wrapped square box of purple. There was no tie to it, so Gaara carefully undid the wrapping. The box that was beneath the covers was made of beautifully polished wood. Decorations were engraved into it.

"I made that myself," she said. "But the present itself was made by both me and a crafter here. I had to help him for a week in order for him to help me make it."

Gaara opened the box to reveal velvet padding. In the velvet was a mobile. He picked it up by the hook so that it glittered in the light. The mobile was made of small fans identical to Temari's. Silver bars clung to then, so that they created a wind chime.

Gaara gently put it back into the box and placed it besides Kankuro's present. He knew Temari didn't like working for nonsense, but she had worked for an entire week to get this present done. She had even taken the time to make the box. Gaara had never truly realized how much his siblings cared for him.

But soon, Gaara's attention was turned to the last present. His question was going to be answered. Who had sent it to him?

"This last present was a hard one to get," said Kankuro. He watched Temari pick it up and carry it over. It was wrapped in a metallic red and had taken the shape of a box. "But we know you'll like it."

"It's from mom."

Gaara froze. Mom? Mother? The woman he had taken the life of? How could she have possibly given him a present when she was deceased at this very moment?

"She didn't really give it to you," said Temari. "It's more like we're giving it _back_ to you. You'll get it when you see it."

She handed Gaara the present. Gaara opened it with _shaky_ hands. He was so nervous at what could possibly be inside. What present could possibly be given to him by his mother? Either his siblings did not notice his shaking hands, or they decided to not mention it.

Gaara slowly undid the metallic wrapping. Inside was a box. It was wooden, like Temari's, except it was made of redwood and not oak. The decorations were many, with a poem of nature written upon it to match the pictures.

"This time, both Kankuro and I made the box," she said. "This took us the longest to make – almost two months with all of the missions we're getting."

Gaara nodded and swallowed a lump in his throat that he never knew he had. He shakily opened the box to reveal something encased in a velvet cushioning. Temari muttered something about the cushioning having been her idea.

Gaara's eyes widened. He bit his lip, quivering as he picked up the object.

It was a teddy bear.

It wasn't just any normal teddy bear, either. It was the bear he carried around with him all the time. He _used_ to carry around with him. When he had been alone, all of those years back in the academy, this bear was his only friend. His widened eyes trailed upon it, starting from the small ears at the top to the stubby legs at the bottom. His had went to its hard black nose, then down to the stitched mouth. This bear . . . _this bear!_

He was completely at loss of words. Not because he was angry. Not because he was shocked at how strange this gift had been (which he was), but because he was afraid. He was afraid that if he had talked, his tears would come out.

No. 'Tears' was not in his vocabulary. He had stopped crying a long time ago. He had _forgotten_ how to cry a long time ago. So what was this choking feeling his was getting? And what were these droplets of water falling down his face?

His head lowed, so his siblings wouldn't notice his slip-up.

"We found this a while back," said Kankuro. "We thought you had lost it, but apparently, someone had saved it."

Gaara had thought he had lost it, too.

"So we thought this was the ultimate present," continued Temari. Her eyes suddenly widened. "Gaara? Are you . . . are you _crying?"_

At this word, Kankuro's head shot up in alert and he looked at his younger brother. It _was_ true! Gaara had tears streaming down his face.

He never knew they cared this much. He never knew anyone would care this much. The thunder had receded, but he didn't notice, because it already seemed that he was in Heaven. He had people that _cared_ and they were right under his nose! He was crying . . . because he was _happy._

"Temari . . . Kankuro . . .," he whispered, speaking for the first time in sobs. "A-a-arigato . . ."

Temari and Kankuro smiled. Their efforts weren't in vain after all. They had been able to please their brother to no extent. They had shown him that they cared.

**XxXxXxX**

_I wish . . . I wish we'd stay together . . . always._

**XxXxXxX**


End file.
